Daily Update for August 24, 2007
Incident: Skyland Wildland Fire
Released: 8/24/2007
Yesterday's Activities:
Quick Fire Facts
Location
32 miles ESE of Kalispell, MT-Skyland Road, 3 miles south of Marias Pass
Approximate Size
45,760 acres
Increase since last update
No Infrared Flight because of cloud cover
Fire Containment
67%
Start Date
July 23, 2007 - 4:30 pm
Cause
Lightning
Incident Commander
Tom Heintz
Resources on the Fire
11 crews
5 helicopters
1 dozer
3 water tenders
11 engines
Total Personnel
462
Est. Containment Date
unknown
Cooperating Agencies
USFS
NPS
BIA
Blackfeet Tribe
Montana DNRC
Landowners
USFS
Blackfeet Tribe
Private
Crews continued to grid search and work any hot spots found along the northwestern edges of the fire. Mop-up and rehabilitation of the suppression lines on the northeast, north and northeast flanks of the fire was continued. The assistance of a wetting rain that helped in this cooling effort was welcomed. Using a hand-held heat detection device (palm IR), more hot spots were discovered and worked. The fire continued to produce some interior smoke as the weather warmed. Crews in the Badger Cabin area continued to work on creating direct line to the east and west.
Weather and Fire Behavior Forecast for Today:
Dry with lower relative humidity and high temperatures generally in the upper 60s and low 70s. A cold front will move through the area overnight on Saturday and the winds will become gusty out of the southwest during the afternoon hours out ahead of it. The relative humidity will drop into the upper teens and low 20s during the late afternoon. The gusty winds and low relative humidity should continue into the evening hours.
Today's Planned Actions:
Rehabilitation and mop-up operations will continue. Five crews are spiked out and working in the Badger Cabin area to create direct line from Red Poacher Cr. over the top to Runner Cr. All four Alaskan crews will time out today and will be returning home. They will be replaced by three crews from the Brush Cr fire.
All entrances to Glacier National Park are open. U.S. Hwy 2 remains open with a speed restriction in the fire area, and short delays when helicopters fly over the highway. Visit www.nps.gov/glac for more information.
For fire restrictions, visit www.mt.blm.gov/fire/restrictions. Much of the Rocky Mountain Ranger District is closed to public use. There are closures in the Hungry Horse Ranger District as well.
Visit http://www.inciweb.org/ and click on Skyland Fire for details, or call the ranger districts - Hungry Horse (406) 387-3800; Rocky Mountain (406) 466-5341.
